Study Tips: Preparing for Thanksgiving Break

One reason to give thanks:
No homework over the break!

The days are getting shorter as your to-do list is getting longer. You might be tempted to postpone your class work until after Thanksgiving because you don’t want to be doing homework while visiting family and friends, eating turkey, and sleeping off the tryptophan! But if you put off your studies, you could find yourself neck-deep in homework — and facing low motivation because the semester is almost over. Plus you’ll have the added stress of studying for finals.

Choose a better course of action by doing homework ahead of time so you can relax over the Thanksgiving break. Here’s what we suggest:

Today and tonight:

Write a rough outline for a paper or presentation.

Review notes about your 99 physics problems (or problems in any other class) and do related homework.

Read notes for other upcoming tests.

Tuesday:

Write the first paragraph of your paper and prepare the first slide of your presentation.

Continue working on homework that’s due after Thanksgiving.

Study your notes a little more.

Wednesday:

Go over your work to make sure it is written or presented in a professional manner.

Make necessary corrections to homework and to your notes.

During Thanksgiving, you can be worry-free because you are done with all your projects — or are finishing them in manageable amounts.

Get started today. Once the ball is rolling, it’s easier to keep it in motion. Don’t sabotage yourself and your break by waiting until the last minute. Start getting the work done today so that this Thanksgiving is as restful as possible.